Trustees are the people in charge of a charity. They play a vital role, volunteering their time and working together to make important decisions about the charity's work. Trustees' Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference. Trustees’ Week 2015 is 2–8 November, and is being officially launched at the NCVO / BWB Trustee Conference on 2 November 2015.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

Sean Rodwell is 27 years old and has been a trustee for Cyclopark – a charity that operates Cyclopark on behalf of Kent County Council and its partners, for six months.

As a charity and a community sporting facility Cyclopark is committed to encouraging people to get active and on wheels.

Sean wanted to become a trustee because his day job as a Corporate Senior Auditor and Charity Specialist at Kreston Reeves involves working with charities and he wanted to get a better understanding of how they operate.

He has always been interested in volunteering and coaches a junior football team. He felt he had lots of relevant skills as an auditor to help the charity financially. He is also a keen sportsman and interested in all things active.

Sean is the youngest of 13 trustees on the board. He found out about the role through the Trustees Unlimited website and although the charity wasn’t specifically looking for younger trustees, he decided to apply.

The recruitment process was straightforward. Sean submitted his CV and covering letter explaining why he was interested in the role and was then interviewed by three trustees. He was invited back for a tour of the facilities with the CEO and after attending a board meeting as an observer, he was then appointed.

When he joined he was given an induction and the charity has a budget for on-going trustee training. Sean is fortunate in that through his day job he understands the role of charities better than most and even gives talks to others on how to become a trustee. However, he still thinks training is important for those that are not so familiar with the role.

He believes more charities should take on younger people but says there is a stigma amongst younger people about trusteeships.

He comments, “Most young people think trustees are retired or nearing the end of their careers, so they have a lot of time on their hands. There is a perception that it will take up a lot of time, but it doesn’t. In reality, the role takes up one or two evenings a month, perhaps a little more during key accounting periods.”

Sean really enjoys the role and learning about the how the charity operates. He also enjoys getting the experience of being on a board, something which he wouldn’t otherwise have the experience of at this stage in his career.

He says that the main challenge for him, which is probably the same for many younger trustees, is having the confidence to speak up at meetings.

“It can be quite intimidating putting your ideas forward or challenging older trustees who have been there for years. However, this is what charities need younger people for, to offer fresh ideas, so you just have to be brave”.

“Charities should definitely recruit younger trustees to gain a different perspective on things and for young people, the role can be very positive. It looks good on your CV and can help if you want to go for another job – employers like to see that you do voluntary work and experience on the board also demonstrates leadership and governance knowledge which can help in the ‘day job’.”

He believes charities could make better use of LinkedIn and twitter to recruit younger people. They should also talk more to businesses to help recruit as they could let their employees know about opportunities.

He concludes, “Charities should be bolder in their approach and not just use the same recruitment channels. Many businesses have young people that would be keen to volunteer they just don’t know how to go about it and what the role entails, which charities could be proactive in changing.”

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

Jonathan Fogertym writes about his motivation to become a trustee of SIA.

1) How long have you been living with an SCI?

I was injured in 1988 as a 14 year old. I dived into the shallow end of a school swimming pool and hit my head on the bottom. I thought I was invincible at that age. I had no comprehension that doing such a thing could lead to such a serious injury. Having said that, I knew immediately that I was paralysed. It was a surreal experience, to be able to see my arms and legs floating by my side but to be unable to move them. I tried to move them, of course, something inside of me refused to lie still. I believe it was an irrepressible will to live, something innate in all of us.

2) Why did you choose to become an SIA Trustee?

It was an easy decision. I wanted to give something back to the Association. My parents joined me as a member of the SIA very shortly after my injury and even as a teenager I appreciated the support I received. It was important to me to contribute and to try and help others who found themselves in a similar situation.

3) What have you gained from being a member of SIA’s Governing Council?

Primarily, a huge understanding and appreciation of the work that those involved with SIA in the years before me have done. If it wasn't for their campaigning and tenacity, SIA would not be the leading user led organisation for those with SCI that it is today. Being an SIA trustee allows you to understand how the charity raises and spends money and functions on a day-to-day basis and it allows you to play a strategic part in that process. That input is important and hugely rewarding. Being a member of the SIA building committee (that supervised the building and the move into SIA House) was particularly rewarding. It enabled SIA to move on to the next level and develop over the 10 years that we have been in Milton Keynes. On a personal note, I have developed many of my own personal skills and I have forged many life long friendships along the way.

Thursday, 5 November 2015

Have you ever considered trusteeship? Many of us volunteer our time to causes that are close to our hearts but even some of the most dedicated, long term volunteers have failed to consider trusteeship as something they could actually do.

As a trustee recruiter and trustee myself, I often find that few people know about it and those who do, are unsure of how to become one. In addition to this, there are many misconceptions about who can become a trustee: most wrongly assume that you have to be middle-aged or retired with a huge portfolio of achievements and extensive non-executive experience. Whilst this is sometimes the case, being a trustee is a much broader undertaking than simply applying a narrow band of professional skills.

Last year I had started out sharing my experience on why being a trustee was a great opportunity. It’s been more than a year as a trustee and while I do still feel the same, I also seem to have discovered new motivations along the way which seem to go beyond mere career aspirations. So here’s an account of why becoming a trustee is a great opportunity personally and professionally.

Trusteeship in a nutshell

Simply put, trustees are Board members who govern a charity. As a trustee you’d be helping a charity run efficiently according to its mission, strategy and objectives set out in its governing document. You will not be managing but will be working towards developing an overarching strategy, keeping it risk free, compliant along with a duty of care and prudence to its beneficiaries.
Your role as a trustee could be that of a chair, treasurer or a general trustee or a trustee with specific functional expertise.

Your effectiveness as a trustee will depend on:

Your ability to work together with other trustees, appreciate the strengths each one brings to a discussion

Your time commitment and involvement in the organisation’s work and cause

You adding value in areas within and sometimes outside your area of expertise no matter how big or small

You engaging in trustee meetings to challenge, support the decision making process and sticking by the outcomes

You learning to balance your involvement in operational and governance matters

Small and large organisations expect different levels of engagement from their trustees. However, regardless of the size of your organisation, make sure to research your charity, connect with staff and trustees and stay engaged and focussed. For more details refer to the Charity Commission’s simple yet well written guidance document ‘The essential trustee: what you need to know (CC3)’.

Why I became a Trustee

I’ve been extensively involved in introducing professionals as trustees within the charity sector and have encountered a wide variety of reasons for why people become trustees. I became a trustee to improve my career prospects and to get strategic and leadership experience. Having spent more than a year as a trustee, there have been both satisfying and challenging moments. The challenging ones are the typical ones to name a few i.e. trying to balance my time between my day job and trustee meetings; trying to balance my involvement in operational matters and governance matters. These are never easy to get right but have definitely improved my ability to manage time better and prioritise.

The rewarding moments are those where the Board begins to view you as a valued member for your decision making and problem solving skills that helped them take a step in the right direction. Personally I have developed the courage to challenge and support decisions, learnt to appreciate the strengths of other Board members I work with and communicate objectively and constructively. I have realised that to become a trustee it is not enough to be passionate about it but to be able to stick by and be accountable to all things going well and not so well.

How you can become a Trustee

The nature of Boards is changing and there is a need for diverse trusteeship. There is also an uptake of trusteeship from professionals these days so make the most of this opportunity and come forward. You as a potential trustee can now show the following: soft-skills; vocational skills both relevant and transferable, and personal experience all of which add context and depth to strategic decision-making. If you are someone who can stay committed and devote sufficient time, make a genuine contribution as a member on Board and be accountable then this one is for you.

Apply directly to trustee vacancies advertised on charity websites, jobs boards and LinkedIn and don’t be afraid to directly approach a charity you are interested in

Research the charity you like, reach out to them and explore the many possibilities of engaging with them. Go on! Become a trustee if you aren’t already one, it’s a journey waiting to be explored! For those who are already trustees come forward and share your experiences thoughts and contributions. Let’s celebrate trusteeship!

Bilwa Iyer - With a background in HR, Bilwa is a Trustee Recruiter in Reach’s TrusteeWorks team. She is currently actively contributing as an HR Trustee at The Abbeyfield Society George Brooker House.

Wednesday, 4 November 2015

In recent weeks the responsibility of charity boards has been under the spotlight, but being a trustee has many benefits.

The downfall of Kids Company, where the finger of blame was pointed at its trustees, threw the spotlight on the responsibilities boards hold. But it also brought into question whether charities expect too much of their trustees who are after all volunteers, typically motivated by their passion for the cause.

Trustees have a statutory duty to protect their charity’s assets and a duty of care to its service users and they can be held liable if the charity goes under. But scandals such as that which hit Kids Company are rare. Among the 160,000 organisations in England and Wales which the Charity Commission regulates, in the last financial year only 1,024 charities were being looked at for failures and weaknesses in their charity management and another 103 were being investigated for failing to meet their statutory duties (pdf).

“Most of the 940,000 trustees in England and Wales do run their charities properly,” says the commission’s director of policy and communications Sarah Atkinson. “Recent high-profile cases have highlighted, perhaps more clearly for some people, that trustees do hold overall responsibility for their charity.”

However, trustees say that the benefits – both personal and professional – which trusteeship brings are rewards enough in exchange for the responsibilities they hold.

“The benefits are huge in terms of filling a skills gap,” says Katherine Sparkes, chief executive of Getting on Board – which encourages board-level volunteering. “You have opportunities in fundraising, networking a whole range. As a trustee I have taken my family to Downing Street for example and worked with street gangs in Brazil.”

A survey by Getting on Board revealed that 96% of trustees had learned new skills from sitting on a board, 73% said it had boosted their confidence and gave them experience they could take to their workplace; 38% said the role had inspired them to become leaders. Alex Farrow is a trustee for the Diana Award charity – set up in memory of Princess Diana and devoted to supporting and developing young people. He works for a youth policy thinktank and lists the ability to read a financial spreadsheet among the new skills he has acquired: “I’ve also learned how to manage a chief executive – and holding the chief executive to account is a huge part of the role.”

During Trustees’ Week, the Charity Commission highlights one of the main duties of trustees: keeping within your charity’s rules.

The governing document is the ‘rulebook’ for your charity. Depending on your charity’s structure, your governing document is likely to be one of these:

constitution

trust deed

articles of association

A well-written governing document will tell you many of the things you need to know about your charity, and will contain the answers to many frequently asked questions, such as:

what the charity exists to do (its purposes, as explained in its objects clause)

the kinds of activities that it can undertake to further those purposes, what powers it has and any limits on them

who the trustees are, how many trustees there should be and how they are appointed and removed

how to call meetings and what notice periods to give to call an annual or special general meeting (AGM or SGM)

how to change the governing document, and which rules can be changed

whether the charity has members and, if so, who can be a member and what their rights and responsibilities are

how to close the charity down

People often contact the commission with questions such as these. But their governing document contained the answer all along. Sometimes the commission can only find out the answers by reading your governing document. So it makes sense to look at it yourself first.

Each year the commission get requests for copies of governing documents, and in some cases repeat requests. Which must mean that sometimes it’s being used for a specific purpose, then discarded. It’s really important for your charity to get in to the habit of holding a copy of the governing document and to make sure that every single trustee has access to a copy.

If your charity appoints a new trustee, give them a copy of the governing document and emphasise the importance of it. It should be regularly referred to and copies should be made available at AGMs and SGMs.

If you don’t have a copy of your governing document, or don’t know what it is, ask your fellow trustees.

Knowing where your governing document is, and ensuring you understand it, may save you time. The answer to your questions may be in the governing document, which means you don’t have to contact the commission.
Remember that if you think you need to contact the commission, first:

discuss the matter with the other trustees

check your governing document

If your charity doesn’t have a copy, of course it’s fine to ask the commission to provide one (if your charity is a registered charity), but make sure you then keep that safe and take copies for all the trustees.

The governing document is essential to your charity. You and your co-trustees may need to review it from time to time to ensure that it continues to meet the charity’s needs. Governing documents are legal documents.

You and your co-trustees are responsible for ensuring that your charity carries out its purposes and follows its rules. You can’t do this without knowing what your governing document says.
Time and time again, the commission finds that serious concerns about a charity have their root causes in weak governance. All too often trustees have failed to comply with their governing document. Read the commission’s guidance The essential trustee: what you need to know, what you need to do (CC3), which highlights and gives practical examples of how to avoid some common pitfalls. By ensuring you understand your governing document, you can feel confident that you’re running your charity in a legal and effective way.

Tuesday, 3 November 2015

Phil Adams is 32 years old and recently joined Emmaus Merseyside as its new Treasurer.

Emmaus Merseyside is part the national charity, Emmaus UK, which provides accommodation, training and work opportunities for homeless people.

In Merseyside, in conjunction with Riverside Housing, the charity has recently completed a new build development which will provide en-suite accommodation for two people. The charity also runs a 7,000 sq. ft. superstore selling quality used furniture and household goods. The superstore also provides some of the training and work opportunities and helps to sustain the organisation in the longer term.

In his day job, Phil works as a Corporate Tax Manager at Langtons, a firm of chartered accountants and business advisors in Liverpool.

He decided to volunteer for a charity some time ago but wanted to make sure it was a local charity and a role in which he could put his accounting skills to use. When he saw the Treasurer’s role at Emmaus advertised through Trustees Unlimited, he decided to apply.

Phil comments: “Whilst I have 10 years experience, I wasn’t sure this was enough to take on the responsibility of Treasurer, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I think the charity recruited me because I had the right skills and I was really enthusiastic about helping the homeless people in our community. Also the charity was keen to recruit someone younger to achieve a better balance amongst its Trustees.”

“As social media is a key driver of the publicity for our charity, it was also important I could bring these skills to the board, as most of our other trustees don’t understand it.”

Prior to taking over as Treasurer, Phil attended several trustee meetings, and had a two hour handover with the previous Treasurer. All the other trustees have made him feel really welcome. One of the most exciting parts of the role, and also the most challenging, is that is not just a bookkeeping role.
Phil explains, “The charity aims to be self-sufficient through its retail outlet. We need to make sure the retail site is an attractive offering for the public and will fund the accommodation we provide entirely. It’s a great funding model and really focuses my work as a Treasurer.”

He estimates that he spends an hour or two working for the charity every week as well as time spent attending meetings. Luckily his company is fairly flexible and as long as he does the required hours for his job, they are happy for him to do his trustee work.

He believes that it’s essential for charities to have younger people on their boards, although he appreciates that many people of his age are tied up with families so it’s not always that easy to spare the time.

Phil believes that there is a lot of dissatisfaction in the UK amongst younger people, both politically and career wise, and that charities should try and do more to engage younger people more as this could provide them with a meaningful focus as well as valuable skills.

“Charities have a lot to gain by recruiting younger trustees and balancing the expertise of older trustees with the enthusiasm and fresh perspectives younger people bring,” he concludes.

Monday, 2 November 2015

This Trustees Week Trustees Unlimited is urging charities to do more to recruit ‘millennials’ (people aged 18-35 years) to their boards to stay more relevant to modern society and future proof their organisations.

The ‘More to Give: London Millennials Working Towards a Better World,’ published by City Philanthropy and Cass Business School highlighted that 53% of under-35s working full time in London want to volunteer more than they do, rising to 60% in the younger 18-24 age group. However, it seems that charities are failing to attract this age group.

According to the ‘The ‘Young Trustees Guide ’ launched by the Charities Aid Foundation fewer than 2 per cent of charities in the UK have a person under 24 serving as a trustee and the average age of a board member is 57.

Charities are missing out on a huge pool of young talent and the significant benefits they could bring to their organisations. Millennials have grown up in a technical era and can harness social media to engage their own generation in fundraising. They also bring energy, enthusiasm and they are our future generation of business leaders and pioneers. On the flip side, they can learn new skills, enhance their employability and progress professionally – it’s a real win-win.

I was recently speaking to Justin Davis Smith, Executive Director of Volunteering and Development at NCVO who agrees with me. He believes that the future of the sector depends on finding better ways of harnessing the enthusiasm and skills of young people as volunteers in all guises and particularly in governance and leadership positions. However, he also says the sector is beginning to recognise it is missing the fresh perspectives young people can bring and many organisations are now changing their strategies to attract them.

We have also seen this trend emerging. LHA London, a provider of high quality accommodation in London for students and young people starting out in London is one such organisation that is reaching out to young trustees.

Tony Perkins, Chief Executive at LHA London changed the charity’s recruitment strategy to attract younger trustees this year after reviewing the organisation’s charitable objective of providing accommodation to young people in the heart of London. They decided it would be proper to engage with the young beneficiaries profile by increasing the number of young trustees on our board.

They commissioned Trustees Unlimited to help them and have successfully recruited a young lawyer in her 30s. They are now recruiting a young person with a background in social housing policy and are continuing to review their trustees skill-set and profile for future appointments to their board.
One way to encourage young people onto boards is through workplace schemes. The ‘More to Give’ report highlighted the importance of workplace schemes and initiatives in encouraging younger people to volunteer, with over one-quarter (26%) of those under-35s surveyed mentioning it as a positive influence. And over three-fifths of under-35s agree opportunities at work to get involved in supporting charities help employees to develop work-related skills (62%).

Trustees Unlimited is currently running such a scheme with Barclays, law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges and others, to encourage their employees onto charity boards.

“We’re calling on all UK charities during Trustees Week to re-think their trustee recruitment strategies and appeal to younger people, such as using social media and other recruitment methods to attract them. We believe this will make their boards stronger, improve governance and decision making and make for greater innovation – ultimately helping to future proof the charity for many years to come.

Ian’s practical tips for organisations recruiting younger trustees:

•Create a strong business case for bringing in younger trustees – some older trustees may be reluctant to agree unless they can see the benefits
•Provide a buddy on the board for the younger trustees to help them settle
•Make sure you have a good formal induction process, for many younger people it will be their first trustee role so this is even more important
•Use social media to attract younger trustees or create a YouTube video on why the charity wants younger trustees
•Make sure to do an appraisal every year – as well as making people accountable, it helps people feel secure, and provides a platform for raising any concerns or issues they may have

Knowsley Connectors – networking for the social sector in Knowsley – 24th November 8.30 -10.30 am, The old School House, Huyton – where there will be a celebration of trustees and the work they do in the borough.

For anyone to pop in to talk to us about becoming trustee
and check out current opportunities or if they are already a trustee for a
local group they can pop in and have a chat about their role, share their story
or get some free one to one support for any issues they face.

Friday, 30 October 2015

Academy Ambassadors is delighted to be supporting Trustees’
Week this year through a range of activity to raise awareness of the work of an
academy trustee and the opportunity to get involved. We hope that many more
business leaders will be encouraged to join us and help to make a real
difference to education in England.

Academy
Ambassadors is a non-profit organisation set up to recruit high-calibre
business people into academy trust board positions on a pro bono basis. We aim
to bring the best of corporate governance and business acumen into the
education system and support good trusts to grow.

Thursday, 29 October 2015

Would you like to join us to celebrate Trustees Week and find out about the ‘Young Trustees Cymru’ project?

If you are an organisation that would welcome the views of young people on your board or are a young person who is interested in making your opinion count then join us at this FREE event on Wednesday 4th November 2015 in Neath, South Wales.

Keynote Speaker Leon Ward will be talking about the challenges, benefits and opportunities for young trustees.

Neal Green a senior policy advisor at the Charity Commission, with responsibility for charity governance, and the regulation of exempt and excepted charities. He recently completed the update of the Essential Trustee. Previous publications include It’s Your Decision, a guide to trustee decision making. He represents the Commission on the Governance Code Steering Group and helped to instigate Trustees Week.

Trustees’ Week 2015 starts at the NCVO/BWB Trustee Conference on 2 November. It’s an annual celebration of all the good that trustees do through their charities. It’s an opportunity to say thank you, attract new recruits, and think about trustee skills and training.

Building skills
Why not take time to stop and think what you personally, and your charity if you are already a trustee, have achieved in the last year? Then consider what you want to achieve in the next year.
People join charities because they want to make a difference. Are you making the difference you want to? Perhaps it’s time to refresh your skills and knowledge.

Trustee duties
The main trustee duties cover overseeing the delivery of your charity’s purposes, managing its resources responsibly, acting in your charity’s best interests and conducting its business with care and skill. They also include ensuring your charity is legally compliant and accountable. The publication sets out the legal requirements you must meet, and good practice that you can’t afford to ignore.

How well trustees understand and exercise their duties can be the difference between success and failure in your charity. Events this summer remind us what can happen when trustees don’t have sufficient oversight of a charity’s finances or fundraising, or when they rely too much on one person. Clearly there is more to fundraising than simply tasking someone with getting the money in; there are also ethical and reputational considerations for the board.

Assessing your situation
You might find it helpful to use the trustees’ six duties as a tool to assess how your charity is doing – identify what your trustees are good at doing and where there is room for improvement.

Consider the following questions:

How effective is your charity at carrying out its aims?

How effective is your charity at carrying out its activities?

Do all of your activities match your aims?

How well are your activities working?

The risk in not asking questions like these is that you might just do what you’ve always done whether it works or not. Or you might drift into activities that don’t match your purposes.

Trustees play a vital role in charities. It’s a challenging job to keep a charity on course. It’s about working as a team and making balanced, well-informed decisions. Sometimes it means asking awkward questions or dealing with conflicts of interest.

The Charity Commission wants to support trustees in doing a good job, which is why we have updated ‘The essential trustee’ to make it clearer and simpler. We’ve also included practical examples of common pitfalls to avoid.

The Kreston Reeves charity team are holding an update seminar in November addressing areas of current interest for charities, and the future challenges facing the sector.

Topics covered will include
•Fraud - what you need to know - by Detective Chief Inspector Matthew Bradford
•VAT update
•Trustees' responsibilities and good governance
•Economic update - by John Peters from Adam and Company

Event timings: Arrival 4:00pm for a 4:30 pm start. Seminars will run until 6:00pm
Seminars will be followed by refreshments and networking.

To book a place on to this event, please contact Roxanna Roberts by emailing events@krestonreeves.com or by phoning +44 (0)330 124 1399.

Tuesday, 27 October 2015

Trustees are the people in charge of a charity. They play a vital role, volunteering their time and working together to make important decisions about the charity's work. Trustees' Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.

Saturday 7th November

Where: Auchterarder Church Hall

When: 10am-12pm

What: 10-10.15am - The Living Wage (Common Weal P&K)

10.15-11am - An introduction to PVGs (Duncan Steele, VS)

11-11.30am - Basic Committee Skills (PKAVS)

11am-12pm - HR & Employment Law 1-2-1s (PKAVS)

These events are free to attend - to book your place, please call Holly Bryon-Staples on 01738 567076 or email at holly.bryon-staples@pkavs.org.uk

Trustees are the people in charge of a charity. They play a vital role, volunteering their time and working together to make important decisions about the charity's work. Trustees' Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.

Wednesday 4th November

Where: The Gateway, North Methven Street, Perth

When: 6-8pm

What: 5.30-6pm – Teas & coffees

6-8pm - ‘Board Recruitment’ (Paula Duncan, OSCR)

These events are free to attend - to book your place, please call Holly Bryon-Staples on 01738 567076 or email at holly.bryon-staples@pkavs.org.uk

Trustees are the people in charge of a charity. They play a vital role, volunteering their time and working together to make important decisions about the charity's work. Trustees' Week is an annual event to showcase the great work that trustees do and highlight opportunities for people from all walks of life to get involved and make a difference.

Monday, 26 October 2015

To mark Trustees' Week 2015, SCVS will be running an evening especially for existing trustees, potential trustees and chief officers working in the London Borough of Sutton. Come and listen to an inspiring speaker, meet other trustees and find out who will win the Sue Robson Trustee of the Year Award 2015. For more information, please email: razia@suttoncvs.org.uk

Events over the past few months - such as the demise of Beat Bullying, BAAF, and Kids Company - have highlighted the risks of trustees delegating responsibility for their charity's finances.

So how do you as a trustee ensure that you have the knowledge and skills required to behave responsibly? Trustees Unlimited and the Honorary Treasurers Forum have joined forces and brought together an experienced panel of charity accountants, honorary treasurers and financial directors to present a seminar packed with practical advice for all trustees on how to ensure that the board has the right level of oversight on charity finances

The ICAEW Charity Annual Conference brings together professional engaged in the charity and voluntary sector to explore topics around the key theme of ‘Shaping the future of the Charity Landscape’. The Conference includes a new Governance Stream, which is directly relevant to charity trustees.

Paula Sussex, Chief Executive, Charity Commission, will give the opening keynote, providing sector insights. Andrew Hind of Charity Finance Magazine, will provide the closing keynote, looking at the opportunities and threats likely to shape the voluntary sector’s future and how charities can best respond. They will be joined by experts including:

John Williams, Association of Chairs, who will address the new challenges for trustee boards;

Small Charities Coalition and Young Trustee Forum exploring the potential benefits and issues of recruiting ‘Young Trustees’; and

Bill Lovett, Haiti Hospital Appeal, who will discuss how charities should measure and report on their success.

A networking session will be open throughout the day and there will be opportunities for further discussion at the annual Drinks Reception directly following the conference and open to all delegates.